Games for Change Festival Examines Gaming's True Potential

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Sunday, 19 April 2015 13:41

Written by Brad Balfour

In a relatively short span of decades, the medium of videogames has undergone many changes in the role they play in the cultural zeitgeist. From barroom novelty, to home entertainment, to just for kids, to grim and gritty, to massive to pocket, from complex to deceptively simple, the medium has taken many faces. The Games for Change Festival (April 21 -23, 2015), in conjunction with the Tribeca Film Festival and happening at the NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Pl., New York)  looks not just how we play and what kind of games we play, but it also examines the massive cultural reverberations the medium has made, and how it is also a tool for growth, learning, and social change.Yes, even the Angry Birds.

The emergence of the controversial Gamergate movement, gaming’s first culture war, is addressed in a series of talks with Alexandria Neonakis (The Last of Us), Matt Boch (Fantasia: Music Evolved), and Anthony Burch (Borderlands 2) about how the industry can better address issues of inclusion and representation in games. Rovio, makers of Angry Birds, discuss how games play an instrumental role in learning, while the company Filament shows how to create games aimed at educating and tailor made for schools.

Along with the extensive panels, there will also be playable games including the nominees for this year’s Games for Change awards, boardgames from art-game collective Babycastles, and Gamedev.world, which looks at innovative independent games from all over the world.

The Games for Change Festival looks to the future of what video games truly have the potential to become.

To learn more, go to: http://www.gamesforchange.org/festival/

Games for Change Festival
April 21 - 23, 2015

New York University
Skirball Center
566 LaGuardia Pl
New York, NY 10012

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